LOS ANGELES - Emmy-winning television thriller "24" will return in the summer 2014 with its lead star, Kiefer Sutherland, after a four-year hiatus, Fox network said on Monday.

"24: Live Another Day" brings back Sutherland as counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer in the series that follows his race against the clock to foil presidential assassination attempts and chemical weapons attacks.

The new 12-episode mini-series will represent 24 hours in Bauer's life, following the same real-time format that became the series' trademark.

"The response to '24' is unlike anything I have ever experienced as an actor before," Sutherland said in a statement. "To have the chance to reunite with the character, Jack Bauer, is like finding a lost friend."

The series, which originally ran for eight seasons between 2001 and 2010, won an Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006, and Sutherland won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in the same year.